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Doug, When we lived and cruised on our sailboat, my wife and I had Dahon folders made of stainless steel with 16" wheels and SA 3Sp hubs. We still have them after 16 years and they are still in great shape. When we go cruising again we will probably get something more modern like the Helios.

Yeah man Thanks for the kudos.. Love me some mountain riding. I have been riding up here for five years..went to the lowlands and rode once since then and was simply amazed....We are riding down to asheville this weekend (200 miles in two day there and back) I chose to ride up winklers for the helluva climbs before heading on the asheville. Monster rides for monster bikes.

I want to convert this bike into an urban assault vehicle - the kind of bike I'd ride from the Battery to the GW Bridge, or up Michigan Avenue, or Younge Street... My plan is to use a Sturmey Archer AW (alloy hub shell) with two speed derailleur on it, single sprocket the front, very narrow flat alloy bars, replace the Record pedals with SPDs. Put on the fattest 700Cs that fit the frame, probably 32s, for the occasional pothole jump. I might even strip/sandblast off the three coats of marine epoxy paint and replicate the original Chartreuse - or paint it flat black to reduce the theft value.

It needs to be light enough to accelerate well and carry onto the subway, yet strong enough to withstand the bad streets.

I use my old Raliegh Grand Prix, made in England, that I've been using for all purposes since I bought it in 1972. It's a touring bike with the shifters on the frame. The only thing I don't like about it is the Weinmann brakes. I don't think I'd like a new bike since I take it on the bus in the morning and I've heard that the bikes sometimes get stolen off the racks. I ride it 14 miles home in the afternoon. It's bike trail most of the way but some of the trail is pretty rough due to tree roots upsetting the asphalt. There's also a few small curbs to ride up. The wheels and tires handle it well.

My best commuter was a folding Dahon Helios I used in San Francisco. Jay Gaerlan, a gifted bike guy in San Francisco, (http://www.gaerlan.com/)used the Helios aluminum frame and added front suspension, seat post suspension, 24 gears, fenders, a rear rack that allowed me to carry a briefcase pannier or a grocery sack pannier without hitting my heels or the ground, and combo SPD and platform pedals as well. He chose Vuelta rims that never went out of true, and Schwalbe Marathon tires that never suffered a puncture despite daily rides through SF streets with debris and potholes.

The big advantage of the folder in SF was being able to take it on the BART subway trains, folded, at any time of the day. Ordinary bikes are restricted to the first and last cars, and forbidden during rush hours. Busses and the CalTrain communter train allow bikes all the time in special facilities, so folding was not an advantage there, but being able to take the bike into a restaurant or hotel or library, folded, was a huge advantage. I had a hybrid stolen, while locked with a Kryptonite cable lock to a standpipe in a lighted, covered garage patrolled by an off duty SF policeman at an in-town SF hotel. The cable had been cut and no one saw anything. After that, the folder came in with me when I was visiting in town. Most places simply accomodated it as they would a wheel chair (which the folded bike sort of resembles). Great commuter -- carried my gear to work and back, and on errands. Quick to set up and take down, every bit as fast as the public transit in SF, but with a reliable schedule: I could leave when I wanted and be on time at the destination.